Fiscal court approves used vehicle purchase after EMS ambulance engine fails

By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio

Tuesday, May 5, 2020 — Nelson Fiscal Court met via Zoom teleconference Tuesday morning and was presented with some bad news by Judge Executive Dean Watts and Nelson County EMS Director Joe Prewitt.

One of the EMS ambulances was returning from a run to Lexington last Friday when it experience a catastrophic engine failure. The ambulance has more than 340,000 miles on it, and the court discussed options to either replace the engine or purchase a used ambulance to replace it.

The cost to replace the engine with labor was estimated at $19,000. Prewitt had located a used ambulance in good condition for $25,000 from a reputable vendor. After a lengthy discussion, the court approved the purchase of the used ambulance provided it meets with Prewitt’s approval after an in-person inspection.

On another ambulance, the court discussed which option to take regarding needed modifications that will allow a power cot to work with a recently purchased used ambulance.

The problem is that the ambulance equipment will not allow the cot to lock in place, though the cot can be retrofitted for $3,800. A power cot allows crews to avoid injury from lifting patients in and out of the ambulance.

The court discussed the retrofit costs versus trading the existing cot in for one that will work — a difference in cost of roughly $10,000.

Noting that the EMS budge has a limited amount of money left for equipment purchases, Watts recommended the court approve the retrofit and save money that is needed to go toward the purchase of a used ambulance. The magistrates ultimately agreed with Watts. No vote was necessary since the cost of the retrofit was under the spending level that requires fiscal court approval.

PRIMARY ELECTION UPDATE. Nelson County Clerk Jeanette Sidebottom told the court the final details about the June 23, 2020 primary election will be decided by the county board of elections at their Wednesday morning.

She warned that the usual polling places will not be used; in fact, the county may only have a handful of polling places in the county.

This is due to the threat of the Coronavirus and the need to protect both the public and poll workers who volunteer at the polling locations.

Sidebottom said that people are encouraged to vote by absentee ballot. The restrictions on absentee voting have been removed for the June primary, and anyone who wishes to vote by absentee ballot may do so. All absentee ballots will have postage on them and will not require voters to purchase a stamp to return them.

She suggested people call or email her office for more information.

People will be able to vote by machine at the county clerk’s office; the start date won’t be finalized until tomorrow’s election board meeting, Sidebottom said.

The Secretary of State’s office will supply personal protection equipment for the clerk’s office and poll workers, as well as disinfectant.

The Secretary of State’s office will also be sending reminder postcards out to voters; postcards that are returned will be used to clean-up the voter rolls, she said.

“I’m 100 percent confident this elelction will go as smoothly as ones in the past,” Sidebottom told the court.

EMS UPDATE. During his EMS activity report, Prewitt noted that the monthly number of runs is down about 20 percent, and the service has seen a drop in billable revenue of about 26 percent.

He said that EMS has seen an increase in calls of people who ask for a medical assessment but don’t want to be transported to the hospital, due mostly to fears of the Coronavirus.

In other business, Nelson Fiscal Court:

— opened bids for a culvert installation project on Whitesides Road. The apparent low bidder was Todd Johnson Contracting of Danville with a bid of $55,882. County Engineer Brad Spalding said he would have to review the bids before his recommendation of an award among the five bidders.

— approved a resolution regarding the county road aid funds the county will receive during the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2020. So far, the county will receive approximately $160,000 less than in years past, Watts said.

— reviewed and briefly discussed the draft budget for the next fiscal year. The court has until June 30, 2020 to approve a final version of the budget.

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